Supermarket will 'wreck' Ulverston

I've just returned from holiday to read the above headline on the Westmorland Gazette site.

They quote Ceri Hutton. I think she is right. 

Here is my rather long but hopefully thoughtful detailed comment: 

Unlike Ceri, I am not part of the Keep Ulverston Special Group. Initially I was in favour of the Robinson's Brewery site supermarket as I thought it would complement existing traders in the town and provide a cheaper alternative to Booths.

I took the trouble to investigate the proposal put forward by Sainsbury in May this year and published an interview with their representative which I believed would inform the public in a neutral way as to what was proposed.

As someone who was present at their display for three hours on their final day I find the publicity coming from Sainsbury regarding the views of local people to be downright dishonest and worthy of very competent politicians who are good at convincing people that black is white.

I too have discussed the topic with about fifty of my friends and 90% believe that any supermarket will undermine the long term future of the town of Ulverston. I am now convinced that another supermarket would be disastrous. Upgrade the Co-op which is owned by us : Yes. But large remotely run businesses : No

The reason is that at present the trade in the town, for the most part is run well by local people. These are canny businessmen who work with local suppliers to get good produce at low prices. Both Deborah Robinson and myself have independently done thorough surveys of local prices that show that that a combination of well run shops like Brocklebanks and Smith and Harrisons can supply a wider variety of goods at lower prices than the supermarkets.

Supermarkets are a thing of the past they are on their way out because of their inefficiency and inability to operate flexibly at a local level. Their transport costs will always be high and are rising as fuel prices increase. Something made in Dalton will be trundled all the way to Manchester only to travel all the way back to Dalton to be sold there. The local businessman buys locally from other efficient producers with working conditions with negligible transport cost.

Supermarkets do not provide new jobs because they put the smaller local suppliers out of business in favour of the distant large scale supplier with dubious hire-and-fire policies and in some cases illegal immigrant workers.

Secondly large is not necessarily better. These companies are run by remote executives who act for the benefit of the large company. Thus in say ten years, they could decide that an Ulverston store isn't as effective as a larger one in Kendal. The smaller Ulverston store which will get closed.

They won't care a toss about how that leaves Ulverston. Yes you could argue that Ulverston is thirty years behind the rest of the country. With the present economic situation this could well be it's salvation.

My plea is for everyone to think carefully about the future and not plump for the 'cheaper' option - in the future this could prove the expensive one which holds a monopoly. No in my view small, local and quickly flexible is the service to vote for. Ulverston, in spite of it's poor politicians has still got the makings of being special. Now at last there are the signs that even the political scene is at the beginning of a shake up thanks to the likes of Jane Harris - one our new and energetic Councillors - and there are more waiting off stage ready to step in - in Five years time Ulverston could be truly special.

Vote “No” to Sainsbury and any other supermarket. Resist their slick highly professional and dishonest way of winning an argument. Resist big business. Have faith in your local loyal nose-to-the-grindstone businessman not a remote disinterested cold-blooded executive with an office at the top of a sky scraper with a team of suited PR persuaders and highly paid lawyers who know how to operate just on the right side of the line of legality. People who know how to pull the right string and are even skilled at the back-hander.